Being Amber Rhea

Some stuff for your eyes and ears

In lieu of a substantive post, here are a few photos I took on our road trip:

Close-up of berries and Spanish moss on a tree in Savannah (best viewed large; click through to Flickr to do that)

Expensive sweet tea

Old depot in Fort Valley, GA

Rusty live-blogging at BlogSavannah

Also, here’s some stuff I’ve bookmarked in del.icio.us and tagged “toread” –

• Unhappy Meals – New York Times article about the (common sense) problems with the Western diet
• “City” means city – Bloglanta has some questions for wannabe Milton County
• Book Distribution in America: A legacy of corruption with incalculable costs – Violet Blue shares her thoughts on “book culture”
• “Blogging for Choice Day” – Belledame’s wrap-up of stuff from all around the blogosphere
• Podcast about SoCon07 – Interview with organizer Sherry Heyl. SoCon07 is coming up in less than two weeks!

I’ll be back with the postin’ and the commentin’ soon. And I still have to catch up on reading other people’s blogs!

Weekend wrap-up

Well, it was a jam-packed weekend! Where to begin. Rusty and I had a blast at BlogSavannah. A lot of the sessions were centered around the intersection of blogging and business, or blogging and mainstream media. Those were interesting but also at times infuriating, especially when one person kept trying to dominate the conversation (clearly some people don’t understand the concept of an unconference!). The Women and Blogging session was good except some of the people kept trying to derail it, and I was just sitting there in awe wondering what the hell crawled up their ass and died. This one woman kept accusing Gennie (the session leader) of “not being honest” because she cusses on her blog but doesn’t cuss in front of her son IRL. She wouldn’t let it go… she said it like 5 times and then was like, “But, you don’t have to defend yourself.” WTF?? Oh, I’m just going to rake you over the coals; but no, it’s not like I’m asking you to defend your choices. I wanted to really go at it with her but I didn’t want to take the session even further off the rails. Also, a lot of the people were really big about “if you blog and you get fired it’s your own damn fault, employers can do whatever they want and you don’t get to complain or have an opinion!!” That floored me as well. Oh, and then, the best, was when this one woman said something like, “If you work nights as a stripper, of course you should get fired from your day job.” Oh lord, how I wanted to tear her a new asshole. But, again, didn’t want to derail. Instead I just looked daggers at her and said I didn’t see why that mattered. Also I called Drew out for not letting the women speak at the Women and Blogging session; with any luck you’ll hear that on the forthcoming podcast. Look, it’s nothing against him personally; I think he did an amazing job organizing this whole thing, and I will surely be sending him a bunch of emails picking his brain for nuggets of wisdom I can apply to PodCamp. But, if you’re a man in a session called Women and Blogging, and you start trying to dominate the conversation, well, I’m going to call you out on it, because that’s some shit and you need to recognize that you don’t get to dominate every single conversation.

Oops, I just realized that I’d been writing in one big long paragraph. Sorry… it kind of reflects my train of thought at the moment though, as I only have a brief window of time here at work to write this. So if this recap is somewhat jumbled, that’s why. Anyway, overall, BlogSavannah was awesome, we had a lot of fun, and met some really smart, interesting people. Oh, and thank goodness we were with Phil after dinner Saturday night, when we discovered our car had been locked in a parking garage. :P He tracked down the person with the keys for us! My BlogSavannah photos are on Flickr, along with about 250 more in the group pool. (I’ll post more photos soon.) Sherry has good coverage of a lot of the sessions.

Moving on… Saturday morning we drove to Vidalia to meet with Wilson Smith of What Is Goin’ On? It was great to finally meet him in person, and Vidalia appears to be a quintessential Southern small town. After our super-secret meeting of which I can reveal no more, Rusty and I were off to Andersonville for an investigation with the Henry County Ghost Hunters. Yep, we got full access to the prison site and cemetery, and spent about four hours wandering around with digiral recorders and flashlights. We got scared at one point by what we thought was a ghost, but it turned out just to be a possum. Anyway, soon there will be a podcast up from that night, and hopefully it’ll include some EVPs!

Also, podcasts from BlogSavannah will also be up in the next week or so… we’re going to start a GAPN network program called (Un)ConCasts where people can put recordings from any conferences they go to. In the foreseeable future we’ll be posting stuff from BlogSavannah, SoCon07, PodCamp Atlanta, and further down the line, Dragon*Con and ConvergeSouth 2007.

Okay, that’s all for now… gotta get back to work. Maybe later this week I’ll actually catch up on reading blogs. At the moment I’m avoiding eye contact with my BlogLines account. BlogSavannah

Back home

Well, after putting 700 miles on my car this weekend, we’re back home! This is just a quick update to say yes, I’m here, and it was an amazing weekend. Will write a proper recap later. Must go to the grocery store, and then SLEEP. Thanks to Thomas, Nikki, et al for bouncing the shiny around with my latest troll this weekend. Y’all rock (well, not the troll; but the rest of you). Note to other, somewhat quieter troll: I bought more sexy outfits today, so there will be more photos eventually. This is just to give you a headstart on the eye-covering and tearful masturbating.

Okay, I must go to the store now, for real. Tomorrow I’ll be playing catch-up with blogs and email, and will hopefully write more about our road trip.

Hello from Savannah

Well, Rusty and I are here at the BlogSavannah Un-Conference ‘07. Right now the guy who’s kind of in charge of the thing is talking about how most of the bloggers in Savannah didn’t know each other, and he’s about to start explaining what an unconference is. Of course, I already know all about what an unconference is, so I can sit here and multi-task.

Rusty will be live-blogging all day (or until his laptop battery dies, at least); for the moment I’ve commandeered his MacBook Pro, but I probably won’t be doing so many updates throughout the day. Anyway, we’ll also be recording some of the sessions for a podcast. In particular I’m really excited about Podcasting 101 and Women And Blogging.

Okay, that’s all for now… just wanted to check in. Keep checking Rusty’s blog for updates throughout the day! If nothing else, I’ll post a recap tonight. BlogSavannah

Short-haired stripper, and completely kick-ass link

Well, it’s taking a lot of guts for me to post this photo, but here it is. I will post more on Flickr, maybe, if I remain sufficiently gutsy. This is a big step for me and anyone who doesn’t understand or wants to come around here with some trivializing bullshit can, as RenEv is wont to say, suck my strap-on in hell.

But let’s keep things positive! So, yes, here it is. This is me, Monday night. I had just returned from pole dancing class and changed into a slightly modified version of the outfit I’d worn. (That is, got rid of the gym shorts that were under the skirt, added the stockings and garter belt.) And, yes, I recently dyed my hair red. I had missed being a redhead!

On another note, everyone should go immediately to Andrea’s blog and read this post. Seriously, do it. You know when you read something where you’re nodding the whole time and thinking, “GodDAMN, this is EVERYTHING I’ve been wanting to say for I don’t know how long, and… it’s all RIGHT HERE, and perfect!” Well, that’s what she’s got over there.

Erasing and silencing

There’s a discussion going on at Dacia’s blog (here and here) centering around an ignorant statement one of her professors made:

During our class this week, I was attempting to explain that one of the main things I want to explore in the paper is the emergence of a growing middle class of sex workers as a result of the advantages of the Internet, and the fact that the Internet is creating a more visible and politicized digital space which some women create workspaces that allow them to opt out of other jobs and lifestyles. The prof simply didn’t accept the idea that some women would chose sex work or that a sex worker could be an intelligent (or even sentient) being. Incredulous, she said: “It’s not as if sex workers are writing master’s papers at Columbia!” And the whole class laughed.

Well, that’s some shit. In the comments I said something about how Dacia herself is proof enough to contradict the professor’s statement. Then another commenter said one example isn’t enough to “prove” anything, to which I replied:

One example won’t suffice? Really? Even when that “one example” is the person STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU after you’ve just denied that such a person can exist? (“You” in this poorly-constructed sentence referring to the asshat professor, of course.) On the contrary – one is all you need in that case.

In the follow-up post Dacia wrote about how anecdotal evidence won’t cut it in an academic paper. This is true; obviously I know this. In fact, some of you may recall that very recently my header quote was this awesome line from Belledame: “The plural of anecdote is not data.” However, there is a MAJOR difference here.

Of course anecdotal evidence isn’t enough for an academic paper. But I wasn’t talking about an academic paper. I also wasn’t talking about instances where – and this is what happens a lot in the blogosphere – people go, “Such-and-such happened to me, therefore it must’ve happened to everyone!” or “I knew X and Y people who did this, therefore everyone does this!” and so on. That, of course, is total bullshit – extrapolating from a few individual cases to The World At Large doesn’t work. I’m every woman; I’m cold, put on a sweater; and all the rest of it. HOWEVER. What happened in the situation Dacia described was very different. The professor was effectively saying, “A person fitting this description cannot exist.” And yet, Dacia IS that type of person and very much DOES exist. So, when someone is basically erasing the possibility of your existence, and yet you’re standing right there? Yeah, one example is all you need.

Anyway, the threads are interesting, if infuriating; you should check ‘em out. It’s definitely true that this issue brings out the bigotry in damn near everyone.

I loved you once, I think

Well, the Village Voice has replaced Rachel Kramer Bussel’s “Lusty Lady” column with one called “Married, Not Dead.” Hooooo boy, that sounds thrilling! I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I pick up (or click on, more accurately) the Village Voice, what I want to read about the most is the status quo! Hey, I wonder, is it difficult being a married upper-middle-class woman with kids and trying to find time for sex with your husband? I wonder! I ponder the question all the time, in fact! And you know, I would really love to read about it every fucking week!

To sum up this absurdly stupid move on the part of the Voice, I defer to Blackamazon:

The Village Voice has strapped on the skis and leather jacket and is sailing over the shark with an EH! in it’s heart.

Lusty Lady the sex column was replaced with …………………

A column featuring over priviliged women complaining how the can’t fuck with the nanny in the house. And life is so hard with the housekeeper… and blah blah OH FOR FUCKS SAKE.

On a tangentially related note, BA wins the prize for today’s Awesome Quote of the Day (this would be the opposite of the having-a-category-of-its-own Bullshit Quote of the Day):

[W]e constantly regress into trying define acceptable sexuality rather than create safety for creation of consensual sexuality.

Right the fuck on.

Quick thoughts on choice – and, of course, me me me

Well, it really snuck up on me! Today is the 34th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the U.S., and as such, it’s also Blog for Choice Day. I participated last year. I forgot to sign up this year.

But, even if I had signed up, I’m not sure what I would say. Honestly the thought of another incessant abortion debate makes me feel weak at the knees. Not because I don’t stand strong in my convictions – but because I just cannot tolerate much more bullshit, in general. And when it comes to The Abortion Issue, this is one area where my tolerance is extremely low.

I believe abortion should always be safe, legal, and easily attainable for any woman who needs the procedure. No one will ever change my mind on this. Ever. I feel sick when I hear about the ever-increasing restrictions being placed on access to abortion in this country, and I start to wonder what the fuck is the point of having it be nominally legal if it’s damn near impossible to access. And then I start feeling depressed. And I don’t like that.

Every time I hear some conservative talk about “abortion on demand” I want to put my fist through a wall. And you know, what good does that kind of anger do me? None. So, I tend to avoid the topic as much as possible these days, and send my quarterly checks to Planned Parenthood and NNAF. At least I’m doing something, even if sometimes I feel like a coward for not being on the front lines.

Wow, what a downer… sorry. See, this is why I didn’t sign up for Blog for Choice Day!

Look for us at BlogSavannah Un-Conference ‘07

This Friday, Rusty and I will be in Georgia’s oldest city for the BlogSavannah Un-Conference ‘07. There’s a Podcasting 101 session, which we will (hopefully) record and make available for download, tagged “recursive.” Check out the full schedule and the list of who’s coming (note there are several Atlanta social media rowdies listed).

Since this is yet another unconference, it’s free. So if you’re able to make it down to Savannah this Friday, come say hi!

[Cross-posted on my Georgia Podcast Network blog]

Saturday morning silliness

Via Madame X

Add together the costs of each thing that you’ve done. How bad were you?

Smoked pot – $10

Did acid – $5

Ever had sex at church – $25

Woke up in the morning and did not know the person who was next to you – $40

Had sex with someone on MySpace – $25

Had sex for money – $100

Vandalized something – $20

Had sex on your parents’ bed – $10

Beat up someone – $20

Been jumped – $10

Crossed dressed – $10

Given money to stripper – $25

Been in love with a stripper – $20

Kissed some one who’s name you didn’t know – $0.10

Hit on some one of the same sex while at work – $15

Ever drive drunk – $20

Ever got drunk at work, or went to work while still drunk – $50

Used toys while having sex – $30

Got drunk, passed out and don’t remember the night before – $20

Went skinny dipping – $5

Had sex in a pool – $20

Kissed someone of the same sex – $10

Had sex with someone of the same sex – $20

Cheated on your significant other – $10

Masturbated – $10

Cheated on your significant other with their relative or close friend – $20

Done oral – $5

Got oral – $5

Done / got oral in a car while it was moving – $25

Stole something – $10

Had sex with someone in jail – $25

Made a nasty home video – $15

Had a threesome – $50

Had sex in the wild – $20

Been in the same room while someone was having sex – $25

Stole something worth over more than a hundred dollars – $20

Had sex with someone 10 years older – $20

Had sex with someone under 21 and you are over 27 – $25

Been in love with two people or more at the same time – $50

Said you love someone but didn’t mean it – $25

Went streaking – $5

Went streaking in broad daylight – $15

Been arrested – $5

Spent time in jail – $15

Peed in the pool – $0.50

Played spin the bottle – $5

Done something you regret – $20

Had sex with your best friend – $20

Had sex with someone you work with at work – $25

Had anal sex – $80

Lied to your mate – $5

Lied to your mate about the sex being good – $25

My grand total: $410.50

Now everyone knows I’ve peed in the pool.

One gripe: the MySpace question is silly and needs clarification. I’ve had sex with several people who are on MySpace. But I didn’t meet them on MySpace. I gave myself the $25 due to ambiguity.

Anyway. I will accept payment in ass, grass, or cash. (Actually just ass or cash, please. It’s the drug use/drunken antics questions that always make my score fairly low on these “purity test” type things.)